Highborn
}} The Highborn are one of the Three People of the Kencyrath. They are the leaders and rulers, and only those with Highborn blood can be Shanir. Traits Physique Highborn are lighter in build and finer in feature than Kendar, and usually smaller. "Fine-boned" is a common description. For example, even though Rue is slightly shorter than Jame, she weights a good 30 pounds more. Senility Highborn are quite susceptible to senility. They are very long-lived, often living to 150, but the old often become senile just before their death. It is usually very sudden, the minds of the old suddenly collapsing with little warning. It is considered hereditary, was well as contagious, and unsafe even to mention. When it strikes, it often renders the victim unable to filter themselves, and all their true characteristics are shown without any limitation. Many Highborn fear this, and choose other forms of death near the end to avoid it. Poison and drugs It is very difficult, and nearly—though not completely—impossible to poison Highborn. For example, they can use black nightshade and Hemlock as sleeping draughts. Highborn also react differently to many other drugs, such as love's-delight. Artistic inability Highborn possess little or no artistic ability whatsoever, not that they never try. Breeding Marriage Highborn Kencyr marriage takes the form of serial monogamy, in which the partners are known as consorts. Unions are formed via marriage contracts, which are signed by the potential consort's lord. During a contract, the woman goes and lives with her consort's house, if they are of different houses. There are two main forms of contracts: limited term consorts and contracts in perpetuity. A limited term consort is a Highborn woman who is contracted to a Highborn man for a set period of time. When a contract expires, it can either be ended, or renewed. At this time, contracts can also be extended, to include children. A contract in perpetuity is a much rarer form of contract, in which the woman is bought permanently and irrevocably, and becomes a member of the man's house. Her former house and lord give up all rights to her forever. Her house is paid a large sum for her. Children The terms of a contact state if children are included or not. Even if a contract does not originally include children, it can be included when the contract comes up for review. Highborn are patrilineal, and children stay in their father's house after the contract expires and their mother goes back to her own house. Age Highborn men traditionally do not form any contracts until they come of age at 27, while women can be contracted out much younger, such as Lyra, who was contracted to Prince Odalian at abut 14. Weddings A lord's wedding chamber is traditionally bedecked with red ribbons. Breeding practices Historically, the Highborn breed within their own houses, often inbreeding to produce Shanir, in hope of bringing about the Tyr-ridan. After Jamethiel Dream-Weaver and Gerridon were born of such a match, Shanir fell out of popularity, cross-breeding between houses became the norm. Contraception Highborn women can generally control contraception at will, at least insofar as not conceiving. Conceiving seems rather harder, as Telarien struggled with fertility. Given the power politics, Highborn men often take Kendar women as lovers, and Highborn men can father children on Kendar women regardless of the women's will. (There are no known instances of the other way round, and so no one really knows if a Highborn woman could control contraception with a Kendar male.) Bastardy Highborn bastards are considered extremely scandalous, because it means that the child's mother willfully misbreed. Half-Kendar bastards are a common, if somewhat embarrassing occurrence. These half breeds still find their uses as solders or priests among their houses and can be easily manipulated by their need for acceptance among their people. Twins Highborn seem to have a slightly higher rate of multiple births than humans. Gerridon and Jamethiel are twins; Jame and Torisen are twins; Tirandys and Terribend are twins; Essien and Essiar are twins, and so are their lordans. The Edirr have an usually high number of twins even for Highborn. Old Kencyr songs claim that twins occupy corners in each other's soul, living or dead. Maternal mortality Highborn women have a relatively high maternal mortality rate, with Telarien, Tieri, Kirien's mother, and Donkerri's mother all dying in childbirth. When this happens, her child and it's father are both blacklisted from future breeding. However, these restrictions seem less than complete. Kirien refers to herself as "suspect breeding stock," not "blacklisted." When Trishien briefly suggests that Torisen take Kirien as his consort, her mother's death and Kirien's breeding status does not come up. Gerridon saw Tieri as a suitable consort, even though Telarien died giving birth to her — though Gerraint didn't tell Gerridon that, and he may not have known, and Tieri did end up dying in childbirth herself. References }} 3-1